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Sky News
16 hours ago
- Sky News
Brutal murder on 'date' exposes robbery gang suspected of targeting dozens of women in South Africa
Thirty-year-old Olorato Mongale made sure to take all the measures necessary for a safe first date in South Africa's biggest city, Johannesburg. She had agreed to meet 'John' in the daytime. She sent her friends her phone location after leaving her house and promptly texted them "on the road" at 2.47pm. They replied "enjoy!", hoping she would find love. An hour later, their friend had gone silent and her phone location was showing up in dangerous areas of the city. A search party of seven friends set off to trace Olorato's digital footsteps. "It didn't make sense. Where is she? Why is she missing?" says Karabo Mokoena, as we drove to the locations involved in their search. After finding her bag on a pile of bricks off the side of a main road, they filed a missing person report at a police station. "I thought there was no way we were not going to find her. We did end up finding her but not in the way we would have hoped," says Karabo. Olorato's body had been dumped at the dirt entrance of a random house less than 100m from where her friends were searching into the night. Her face was swollen and her eyes black-blue from violent impact. Her top was ripped open to expose her breasts. Police told Sky News that her post-mortem showed signs of blunt force trauma. She was likely beaten to death. "It was like I was dreaming, seeing her body like that with those bruises and blood everywhere," says Olorato's mother, Keabetswe Poppy Mongale, describing the moment she had to identify her only child at the morgue. "I don't think what I saw will ever go away," she adds. "It was very painful. I don't wish that on any parent because my beautiful little girl looked different because someone chose to do that to her." CCTV from the driveway of Olorato's building shows the last time she was seen alive, leaving her home to meet 'John'. In the video, she walks towards a white Volkswagen Polo and hesitates as she reaches the left back door. John had come with a friend. Four days after Olorato was killed, police found the car in a different province with traces of her blood splattered across the back seat. Philangenkosi Sibongokuhle Makanya - 'John' - was shot dead by police in KwaZulu-Natal shortly after they found the vehicle. The second man in the car, Bongani Mthimkhulu, is still on the run. The two men have since been identified as part of a dangerous criminal syndicate that lure young women out on dates and rob them at gunpoint. "Within the four days, the investigating officers received 94 calls from women who were raising concerns and identifying the suspects as those they once met," South African Police Service deputy national commissioner Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili told Sky News. "It was unfortunate about Olorato, but others were released after being robbed." A 24-year-old student who survived an armed robbery at the hands of Olorato's suspected killers says she was happy to see Philangenkosi killed but she's still scared for her life. "As women, we are not even safe anymore - we can't even walk freely," she says. "The moment you leave your house you wonder if you will make it back alive. I don't feel comfortable walking around the street. I leave the house and then turn back. "Even when I'm home, I still don't feel safe and always want to keep myself locked indoors," she says with a shaky voice - choosing to remain anonymous. After meeting other victims of the syndicate, she was shocked to hear details of almost identical abductions. "This other girl was surprised because we went through the exact same situation. They also approached her with the same tactic - let me take you out to lunch to get to know you - only for her to be robbed." South Africa has one of the highest femicide rates in the world - an average 15 women are killed a day, many by their intimate partners. According to police statistics, more than 5,500 women were murdered in South Africa last year. An increase of 33.8% compared with the previous year. "South Africa has six times the average rate of femicide - hundreds of women have already been killed since Olorato's murder," says Cameron Kasambala from Women for Change. The advocacy group raises awareness of rising cases of femicide and gender-based violence across South Africa. In the hours after her murder, Olorato's friends contacted Women for Change to share her missing poster after receiving little immediate help from the local police station. "I think her friends were the real heroes in that moment," says Cameron. "Two police stations that were 10 minutes apart, one finds a body and one has a missing case, don't make a connection for hours. It's not the most reassuring police work. And if the friends had not come forward, how long would it have taken? "Unfortunately, Olorato's case is an exception. Most cases are not handled that quickly." Olorato's friends are still contending with the violence of her death - what it means for their daily lives and how they navigate their safety as women in South Africa. "It is difficult to process and difficult to believe. This is somebody who ticked all the boxes when it came to being careful - being meticulous, checking her surroundings and leaving clues," says Olorato's friend, Koketso Sejosengoe. "It shows it can happen to anybody no matter how safe you are. It is happening to the average girl. They are being targeted. These men know what they are doing and who they are looking for." "In the purest sense, Olorato wanted women to be safe and wanted women to be protected," adds Koketso. "I think she would be very proud to know that her name has not gone in vain and that her death is standing for something - that there will be change that comes with this."
Al Jazeera
20-06-2025
- Al Jazeera
African manhood is broken – and it's costing women their lives
On May 25, Olorato Mongale, a 30-year-old woman from South Africa, went on a date with a man she had recently met. Less than two hours later, she was dead. Her half-naked body was found by the roadside in Lombardy West, a suburb north of Johannesburg. It showed signs of severe trauma and bruising. Investigators concluded that she had been murdered elsewhere and dumped at the scene. Her brutal and senseless killing led to a wave of grief and outrage on social media. Days later, a family spokesperson revealed that Mongale – a master's student at the University of the Witwatersrand – had once worked as a journalist. She left the profession seven years ago due to the emotional toll of reporting on gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). Her family said Mongale had grown increasingly anxious about her own vulnerability to male violence. In particular, the 2017 murder of 22-year-old Karabo Mokoena haunted her. Mokoena was stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend, Sandile Mantsoe, who then burned her body beyond recognition and buried the remains in open grassland in Lyndhurst – a suburb just kilometres from where Mongale's body was found. Despite her conscious efforts to avoid Mokoena's fate, Mongale ultimately became what she had feared most: another name added to the long and growing list of South African women murdered by men. At her funeral on June 1, her mother, Keabetswe Mongale, said her daughter had tried desperately to fight off her attacker. 'When I saw her at the government mortuary, I could see that my daughter fought. She fought until her nails broke,' she said. Her devastating death serves as a stark reminder that women and girls across South Africa continue to face an existential threat from gender-based violence, despite years of government promises and reforms. On May 24, 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law a bill establishing the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. The body is mandated to provide leadership and coordination in the fight against GBVF. While it appeared to be a step forward, it did not represent a transformative policy shift. This is not the first such initiative. In 2012, then-Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe launched the National Council Against Gender-Based Violence, with a similar mandate to coordinate national anti-GBV efforts. More than a decade later, with yet another council in place, GBVF crimes continue. In November 2023, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) of South Africa released the country's first national study on GBVF. It found that the persistence of gender-based violence is rooted in 'deeply ingrained societal norms and structures that perpetuate male dominance and reinforce gender hierarchies … leading to female subordination, systemic inequalities, and violence against women'. The destructive effect of entrenched patriarchy is undeniable. In South Africa, a woman is murdered every three hours. That is approximately 8 women a day. One study estimates that around 7.8 million women in the country have experienced physical or sexual violence. While women of all races and backgrounds are affected, Black women face higher rates of GBVF – an enduring legacy of apartheid and its structural inequalities. This crisis is not unique to South Africa. The terror faced by women and girls is a continent-wide phenomenon. In November 2024, the United Nations published its report Femicides in 2023: Global Estimates of Intimate Partner/Family Member Femicides, revealing that Africa had the world's highest rate of partner-related femicide that year. Kenya stands out for its staggering figures. Between September 2023 and December 2024, the country recorded more than 7,100 cases of sexual and gender-based violence. These included the murders of at least 100 women by male acquaintances, relatives, or intimate partners in just four months. Among the victims was Rebecca Cheptegei, a Ugandan Olympian and mother of two, who competed in the marathon at the 2024 Paris Games. On September 5, 2024, she died in Eldoret, Kenya, from severe burns after her former partner doused her in petrol and set her alight during a domestic dispute. He himself later died in a hospital from his injuries. The Kenyan government later recognised GBVF as the most pressing security challenge facing the country — a belated but crucial move. On May 26, Kenya's National Gender and Equality Commission noted that the surge in GBVF crimes was driven by 'a complex interplay of cultural, social, economic, and legal factors'. Patriarchal traditions continue to fuel inequality and legitimise violence, while harmful practices such as forced marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM), and dowry-related violence further endanger women's lives. Economic hardship and women's financial dependence only deepen their vulnerability. Across the continent, we are witnessing a dangerous resurgence of archaic patriarchal norms. The COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 further exposed the scale of the crisis. Since then, countless behavioural change campaigns have been launched, but they have largely failed. This is no surprise. According to Afrobarometer data from November 2023, nearly 48 percent of all Africans believe domestic violence is a private matter, not a criminal offence. The uncomfortable truth is that many African men, regardless of education or economic status, do not prioritise the safety or rights of women and girls. On International Women's Day last year, South African rugby captain Siya Kolisi said it plainly: 'Men are not doing enough.' Indeed, many continue to uphold harmful customs such as child marriage and remain disengaged from efforts to protect women. Years of empty rhetoric have led to a growing body count. It is time for African men to take full ownership of this crisis and commit to radical change. They must reject cultural practices and ideals of manhood that dehumanise women. African cultures are not unchangeable, and patriarchy is not destiny. A new, egalitarian model of African masculinity must be nurtured — one based on dignity, equality, and nonviolence. This cultural reorientation must begin in families and be sustained through schools, religious and traditional forums, and community life. It must happen for Olarato Mongale. For Rebecca Cheptegei. For the thousands of others whose lives were stolen. And most urgently, it must happen for the women and girls across Africa who live each day knowing that their greatest threat may come from the men closest to them. There can be no just African future unless African manhood is transformed.
